"I'm pretty sure ice cream helped me win Wimbledon" - Denis Shapovalov recalls hilarious SW19 story with ex-coach
Denis Shapovalov remembered a hilarious story from 2016 when he won the Wimbledon boy's singles title.
Shapovalov was an up-and-coming 17-year-old player at the time, entering Wimbledon as the fifth seed. In a recent interview, the World No. 29 revealed what went on during the tournament he eventually ended up winning.
"Story from 2016 and pretty sure the ice cream helped me win the Wimbledon," Shapovalov captioned the video.
The story started with a simple shopping trip he was sent on by his then-coach Adriano Fourivia.
"I was at Wimbledon, so Adriano goes to me and Johnny, he goes 'Guys, go pick up groceries. Here's a list of the things we need.' And right before going to the cashier, I see a box of Haagen-Dazs and I'm like, 'John, let's get some. Come on," Shapovalov started the story.
"And John knows the way that Adriano is and he goes, 'Dude, no. Don't do this.' And I was like, 'Dude, he's never going to find out.' So we get the Haagen-Dazs, John distracts him, I go and put it in the freezer," he continued.
Shapovalov thought he was in the clear at the time, but things soon turned south.
"We finished dinner and Adriano goes to wash the dishes. Me and John were on the couch just watching TV, the guy gets up, or he is by the kitchen helping Adriano, and he goes, 'Hey, what's for dessert?' And I swear to God, it was playing like slow motion," Shapolav said.
"He opens up the freezer and he is like, 'Oh, Haagen-Dazs.' 'We're trying to win Wimbledon, you're getting this guy Haagen-Dazs?' You know I'm going to have the ice cream," he added.
The Canadian credits being scared of his coach for his next win, but he doesn't mention which one. It is hard to tell looking at the results, as he 'destroyed' almost every opponent until the semifinals.
"I just remember the next day I was like, 'I cannot lose this match.' I think I destroyed the guy because I was like, I need to be on it. There's no way I can lose this one!" Shapovalov concluded.
Denis Shapovalov defeated William Blumberg, 6-3, 6-4, in the first round, Finn Bass, 6-1, 7-5, in the second, and Yun-Seong Chung, 7-6(2), 6-3, in the third round. In the quarterfinals, he bested Mate Valkusz, 6-4, 6-2.
He wasn't troubled until the semifinals, where he met top seed Stefanos Tsitsipas. He defeated the Greek in three sets, 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-2, and then went on to dispatch Alex de Minaur, 4-6, 6-1, 6-3, to win the 2016 Wimbledon boy's singles title.
Denis Shapovalov struggling to find form prior to Wimbledon 2023
Denis Shapovalov has had a year to forget in 2023, losing more than winning (10-12).
Many were expecting the 24-year-old Canadian to pick up the form when the grass season started, but the results did not reflect that.
Shapovalov lost to Marton Fucsovics, 6-3, 3-6, 4-6, in the first round of the Stuttgart Open. He defeated Lloyd Harris, 7-6(1), 6-4, in the first round of Halle, but lost to Alexander Zverev, 6-2, 6-4, in the following match.
With Wimbledon soon approaching, the World No. 29 will be looking to find the rhythm he had in 2021 when he played in the semifinals.
Denis Shapovalov lost to Novak Djokovic two years ago at SW19, 6-7(3), 5-7, 5-7, and hasn't been able to replicate that success ever since.